The Resident Non-Resident

chillibreeze writer — Revathi Siva Kumar

Today, almost every middle and upper-class family seems to have a ‘resident non-resident’ – a member who has lived abroad, proudly pins his NRI label to his name like a medal, but has returned for good, out of choice. What exactly accounts for this extraordinary reverse migration in the 2000s? The conditions which forced their initial exit are still rampant – the traffic-choked, polluted and corruption-ridden arteries of the motherland, compared to the gleaming, sleek broadways of the First World. The quality of life is better in many ways in foreign climes. The professional would still find it more stimulating and easier to work abroad.

Yet, something has changed from the severe seventies or even nineties, when there were hardly any returnees, and the few who tried lived to rue the day. Today, from the software engineer to the media professional, a few Indians in almost every sector are returning, or at least toying with the idea.

The one overwhelming, common factor they all share is the emotional pull. This is home, where they ‘belong’. For instance, Manohar Goswami, one of the returnees, explains it: “I was just returning to a place where I felt I belonged. I was following my heart, and it happened to be taking me back home.” Veena Krishnan’s eyes moistened as she recalled. “Every time I came home, I would see my family members getting older and older. I wondered why I was spending my days away from them.”

Hence, the expatriate has always felt homesick and longed to return. The non-resident who reverses his status belongs to the tribe of Indians which has always had one foot at home, and was only waiting for the right conditions to bring him back. And suddenly, the conditions seemed just right - economic, social, and political.

Economic reasons: NRIs are returning to India for the very reason that they left in the first place: opportunities to make money. Earlier, there were not too many avenues here, while now the sun is rising on this ancient country as never before. The liberalized, globalized ambience of India holds promise. In the post-recession-hit years of the early and late 2000s, the opportunities in the Indian metros, even in the second-rung cities like Coimbatore and Chandigarh, suddenly looked very promising.

The nation was no longer a doddering, mixed-economy accident of history, but a sleeping giant lumbering up. “I can earn as much in India as I can abroad, and at a much lower cost of living, so why should I remain away from home?” said Mahima, who took a transfer to the India HP office. Salaries are attractive and comparable to the best in the world. Money has become a respected commodity, as India began to throw off the shackles of a socialistic mindset, which once sneered at private capital and money.

The IT boom: IT opened the doors to lucrative jobs abroad and also brought people back. Anyone working in a coveted software job overseas could get an offer at an equally enviable job in the country. Before the 1990s, no American company was willing to open a branch in India, but now, almost every IT company seems to be scrambling for a place in the warm south. Fortune 500 companies, which had been outsourcing their products and services, want to shift and are wooing the US exposed Indian, whose heart is already here. Multinationals in the US have realized, for instance, that Indians in the US can be wooed to come back to their motherland. They form an immensely rich source of talent, after having got exposure to western standards and managerial practices.

Melting borders: Due to the Internet boom, geographical borders have melted and work spaces have expanded. While earlier, it was important to be physically near the workplace, it is now possible to work from anywhere, as there is now a global network, which is the repository of a vast wealth of information. There is little difference between the computer technological knowhow of India and the US.

The entrepreneur: Interestingly, for the super-educated expatriate such as the IIT-IIMian, for instance, India is suddenly fertile ground for entrepreneurship. Rakesh Mahajan, a Robotics graduate from Cornell University, set up the Deneb Robotics Inc. in Bangalore. Its iGrip, an interactive, 3D graphic simulation tool for design, evaluation and analysis, is exported to every auto maker in the world today. Joseph Vidyathil, Harvard alum, started Bay Soft Technologies in Bangalore, which develops application and front-end software for automatic testing of microprocessors.

For them, the low-cost but technically superior labor force is a definite advantage. The driving force is of course an overriding patriotism. “I want to be an entrepreneur in order to develop my home-town, Durgapur, where most industries are either sick or dead due to trade unionism and gross mismanagement,” explains Sandip Pal, who is currently working at Dubai, but exploring options of studying MBA at HEC, Paris, in order to bring his skills and resources back home.

Changing perspectives: The return for NRIs is anything but easy, though. Initially, everyone here seems to be in a conspiracy to send them back. As one of the returnees, Abhijit Mohanty put it, adjusting to the new surroundings with the family was tough in the first year. The children fell ill at every turn of the weather, while the maids and other workers conned them all the time.

However, what has changed is the attitude. Certainly, there is the same corruption, inaction and lethargy that the NRIs had claimed to “run away from”. But they have now realized that they can be fought and conquered. India is changing. There might still be the superstructure of a huge, bureaucratic framework. Yet, there is now talk of becoming a ‘superpower’ in a few years. The focus is no longer on a government job, but on private capital. People are no longer wondering whether anything will ever change in India, but are asking when, how soon, and what they can do to contribute.

India is thus no longer seen as full of obstacles, but replete with challenges. “Life is too easy in the West,” explained Udit. “I would just have to run faster and faster on same track, like a well-oiled machine. Here, though, there is a huge task that is waiting for me. We have a lot to clean up.”

Different lifestyles: Lifestyles in foreign countries are difficult to adjust to. There is no domestic help, so everyone has to do their own washing, cleaning, and sweeping. “I never thought I’d have to mop the floor everyday and wash vessels at the age of 50,” rues Meher Jussa. Daily living is a struggle. “It is lonelier for senior citizens, who can hardly walk to the bus-stop and catch a bus,” confesses Adnan. “I called my parents over, but they could not survive the tiny flat for more than two months.”

The problems are different, and not comparable, but they are there, they exist. If you have to face bad roads and overpopulated colonies in India, you have to fight traffic problems and too-much-housework in the US. If there are more conveniences, they can quickly begin to pall on those who are trying to seek something beyond the trappings of superficial living.

And in India, due to the changing face of the new metros and even rural India, it is possible for an Indian to imitate his lifestyle in the US, without the irritants. Imported cars, malls, foreign brands and international schools make it possible for him to enjoy the kind of lifestyle that he would never have dreamt of even 15 years ago. Secondly, most Indians who return continue to maintain one foot on foreign soil. They travel abroad frequently on business as well as personal tours, which effectively brings them closer to international lifestyles.

Thus, with changed conditions, it is possible, for an Indian today, to live in several countries at the same time, wherever he is. Returning to India is no longer a radical sacrifice, but an option to enjoy the best of all worlds.

Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com).

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in August, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

More on Chillibreeze.com

Other popular articles on Chillibreeze

Cardinal Rules For All Ye Bloggers
Job Hunting in the New Economy
How to Easily Convert a Website to CSS
Tween Trouble: What Happens When they Turn Eleven
Top Biotechnology Start-ups in India

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

—About our writer:

Revathi writes for chillibreeze.

The Resident Non-Resident

chillibreeze writer — Revathi Siva Kumar

More on Chillibreeze.com

>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers: